Bonner, Boca and bonding: Inside the signing, team trip that helped lift the Atlanta Dream to the WNBA Finals

DeWanna Bonner has seen it all in her long, storied WNBA career. At 39 years old, the veteran forward has played on 17 different rosters, faced legends like Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark, and won her share of championships. But one of the most meaningful trips of her career happened less than two months ago, starting with a quick contract signing and a flight to Florida.

Right after the Atlanta Dream acquired Bonner on Aug. 27, she joined her new teammates for a Labor Day weekend trip to Boca Raton during the FIBA World Cup break. The team trip had been planned weeks ahead of time, mimicking a successful getaway they held during the Paris Olympics. Nobody could have planned the perfect timing, but the trip turned out to be the ultimate shortcut for Bonner to blend into a new locker room on an incredibly tight schedule.

“She was always going to fit in really well with our team, no matter what,” Dream assistant general manager Brooklyn Cartwright said. “But from a chemistry standpoint, the trip certainly didn’t hurt.”

During the break, the team spent four days practicing at Florida Atlantic University and lounging around the resort while Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard won World Cup gold with Team USA. Without family or friends nearby, the players fell into a natural routine: practice together, hit the beach, swim in the pool, and just talk. Old bonds got stronger, and new ones formed organically.

“It’s just been up from there with us, and kind of been locked in since then,” Bonner said. “We just kept building.”

The results spoke for themselves. After returning from the break, the Dream stumbled in their first game but haven’t lost since. They enter the WNBA Finals on a massive 10-game winning streak, having swept both the Washington Mystics and the New York Liberty in the playoffs. The first Finals appearance for Atlanta since 2013 will start Saturday against the Golden State Valkyries, with home games moved to the larger State Farm Arena due to high demand.

On the court, Bonner’s veteran presence was felt immediately. She noticed young guard Te-Hina Paopao starting to drift late in practices and would walk over to tell her, “Give me 15 more minutes. Stay locked in.” For a player who looks up to the 17-year veteran, those words meant everything.

“Just hearing someone like Miss DeWanna say that to me, it means a lot,” Paopao said. “She’s done a lot these last couple of weeks. It just feels like she’s been here from the jump.”

Bonner also took it upon herself to push third-year forward Angel Reese, challenging her daily to be the engine of the team. Since Bonner joined the roster, Reese has averaged 19.1 points and shooting 56.2% from the floor—well above her season averages—along with 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals. During a tense playoff game, Bonner even stepped between Reese and Allisha Gray to keep the team from taunting the crowd, a classic veteran move to keep everyone grounded.

“She always challenges us. She keeps us humble,” Reese said. “Sometimes I’m like, do you ever smile? Why are you not smiling? We just won.”

When Allisha Gray exited the semifinal opener with a hand injury, Bonner stepped up big time, posting a postseason-high 23 points, nine rebounds, and two steals. Coach Karl Smesko couldn’t praise her enough, noting she knows where the ball needs to go even if she’s never run a play before, bringing both high energy and a calming presence.

The front office had tried to sign Bonner in previous free agency periods without success. It finally worked when Phoenix granted her a buyout so she could chase a championship. The Dream were thin on depth and veteran playoff experience, and Bonner—with her WNBA-record 103 playoff games—was the perfect addition. The Boca trip fast-tracked the chemistry, giving the team a chance to work on their defense and build the sharp, aggressive style that carried them through the postseason.

Off the court, Bonner’s journey is just as compelling. A basketball reference page humorously notes her 2017 season as “Did Not Play (maternity — twins!)” from the league’s famous “Count It” campaign. Her twin girls are now nine years old and have been bouncing around arenas, while her fiancée, Alyssa Thomas, plays for the rival Mercury. This year marks the first time since 2019 they aren’t finishing the season on the same team, which allows them to dissect games together away from the court.

Bonner has told her teammates repeatedly to be where their feet are and not look past the task at hand. After 35 days since that Boca trip, she is leading by example, proving that some of the best chemistry is built not in the heat of battle, but on a quiet beach in Florida.